it is a measure of just how bad things have been with the loss of another quarter million america jobs last month is seen as a sign of progress, that what happened today when the government said 240,000 jobs were lost in july, fewer than anticipated. unemployment rate actually declined to 9.4%. numbers suggest the steep decline in the economy might be easing. so, betsy stark joins us again tonight. >> reporter: the economy has lost jobs for 19 straight months. under normal circumstances, today's numbers would be apalg. given where they we have been, they are another sign the worst is behind us and the seeds of a recover are being to take hold. at the white house today, the president took some credit for today's jobs numbers saying the stimulus plan had rescued the economy from castro fee. >> today, we're pointed in the right direction. >> in the first three days on of this year, panicked employees were slashing jobs at an average pace of nearly 700,000. that has eased to about 30,000 a month. >> that period of freefall is over. >> if everything sticks to script, 6 to 12 months we'll fe